The Governorate of Alexandria possesses many historical buildings and districts in addition to art works and streets that need protection. In December 1999, Dr. Mohamed Awad founded the Alexandria Preservation Trust (APT): an organization dedicated to promoting awareness and preserving Alexandria's cultural heritage, with special emphasis on the building environment. Within the framework of the APT, Dr. Awad compiled a list of buildings that need protection against demolition. The Governor of Alexandria requested that the Bibliotheca Alexandria prepare the Alexandria Heritage Catalogue to include all the historical buildings, streets, districts, and art works that require protection. The Governor established two committees to identify the historical buildings throughout the Alexandria Governorate. Alex Med was responsible for organizing the work carried out by these two committees and for creating the digital maps and databases of the buildings, streets, districts, and art works in GIS form.